NANDA: Energy Field Disturbance Diagnosis

While studying Carpenito, I came across this diagnosis. It's pretty cool, and I wonder if anyone here has actually used it as a diagnosis. According to Carpenito, it represents a specific theory--human energy field theory--and the interventions used require specialized instruction and supervised practice. Also, in order to diagnose it, one must have thirty hours instruction in theory and practice, thirty hours of supervised practice with healthy individuals, and have completed written and practice exams. (I'm assuming that are specific to the energy field theory)

What intriques me are the interventions used. theraperutic touch in this case sounds alot like the practice of reiki. Are there any reiki Masters in here? Anyone who has ever had reiki performed on them? What are your thoughts on this? I had reiki run on me once and I admit, I actually thought clearer for a few weeks afterwards. Unfortunately,I was too busy to follow up.

Also, anyone have any thoughts on the liklihood that this is a future branch of nursing that is likely to expand as alternative med does?

Yeah. Energy fields are screwed up. Let's make up a new "Nursing" diagnosis for that one.

We'll never get any respect if this gets out. "Yeah, uh, Doctor Smith? The reason I'm calling you is because Larry Wilson's not, how can I put this, feeling too "aligned" this morning. Yeah, it seems that his E-fields have been skewed somewhat."

"What's that? Can you repeat that order? Do what with the cattle prod?"

I don't subscribe to the theory, but I know some who do and it makes for some interesting dialogue lol.

Linda

Oct 30, '01

I practiced healing and therapeutic touch and totally subscribe to this diagnosis. As a matter of fact, when I first saw this as a NANDA dx, I was thrilled! When I first heard of therapeutic touch, I was really skeptical (" do what with the cattle prod?" I was ROTFL!). After my first class, I was much less so. Consider the fact that we use magnets to look inside a person's body (MRI) and to make dx. Alternative therapies only give us another method to look at the whole person.

If you're wondering about the science of this, check out quantum physics, which posits that matter and energy are the same thing (E=MC2). We all have energetic fields and are constantly exchanging energy with other living things and with the environment. What goes on in the energy has a real effect on the body.

I have experienced reiki as well as healing touch. When I was taking classes, I did some volunteer work with a teenager who had broken multiple bones in a car accident. Her ulna and fibula had healed pretty well, but her hip was not showing any signs of healing after 7 weeks in a cast. The girl was also experiencing signs of depression and anxiety r/t her lack of mobility and the fact that she'd been told she may never walk again and would need more surgery. I offered to do HT with her and spent time with her family and with her to explain some of it to them. She decided that they had nothing to lose - there was no cost and the technique is noninvasive. Two weeks after I started with her, she had a doc appt. They did an xray and found significant healing - totally unexpected to the point where they repeated the xray to be sure that they'd done the correct hip! She also experienced a significant decrease in her anxiety. A month after I started working with her, she was out of the cast and using a walker. They moved away, so I don't know how she's doing now, but I really feel that HT made the difference for her. She does, too!

I could tell you other stories. I feel strongly that this is a powerful nursing tool that we can use to the benefit of our patients and of ourselves. One of the unique things is that the practitioner of HT also benefits from giving a treatment. You can't say that about other modalities! If I give an injection, I'm certainly not hurt by it, but I don't benefit, either. Although I've never been able to be "out of the closet" with HT, I've used some of the techniques with clients who were anxious or fearful about certain things and have been very successful.

Oct 30, '01

thank you all
ive never heard of any of this. of course my first reaction is skeptical but i am going to check this out. of course we give and take energy. some of it makes sense.
nicola, you say that you as the practitioner can benefit from the treatments, can you also be hurt by them?

Oct 30, '01

The only way you can be hurt is if you don't prepare yourself correctly (center and ground yourself) and end up giving away your own energy instead of giving away the energy from the environment. When you take the classes, you learn how to maintain and protect your own energy field from others. It works! I used to be annoyed by one classmate who was like a porcupine to me. I practiced making my field semipermeable - I can send out everything, but only good things can get in - and it helped a lot!

My friend, Jane (much more practiced than I at HT) and I joke that it seems like hocus pocus...

Oct 30, '01

Heck, I thought this had something to do with computers and slow connections. Anyone else ever have this problem? I haven't been able to really post for a while now and it's really getting me angry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to change the subject...

Oct 30, '01

you know nicole bout half or more of the nurses reading this are thinking we are crazy and shaking their heads. i think there might be something to it and im going to check it out..i believe in hocus pocus.

Oct 30, '01

that nsg diagnosis is retarded. if you used it for a care plan what would the interventions be?
i like the cattle prod idea, not just for energy fields but as one of our basic tools. id prob end up using it more on my coworkers than the pts...lol

Oct 30, '01

I tried to arrange for a dying elderly woman in our assisted living facility to have massage. The masseuse had special training to aid lymphatic draining and pain-relief massage for terminal cancer patients. The family consulted the PCP and he denied the request! What was it going to do, kill her? She died a week later with no one giving therapeutic touch. I cannot attest to her energy field, but when I am dying, please have someone give me a long massage! What kind of power does a doctor have that he would deny this kind of loving treatment, and he could get away with it?

Carrie

Oct 30, '01

When my medical problems start to flair up the first person I call is my physical therapist. She specialized in Cranio/Sacreal Massage and many times can fix me right up with no other medical intervention.

Hey, people can call it Hocus Pokus or anything else they want, but when it works, it works.

Oct 30, '01

Some vets use accupuncture/pressure, healing touch, etc., and the animals do much better---it would be harder, I think, to have a "placebo effect" w/ an animal than a human.

So, hocus-pocus, maybe, but use anything you can that will not cause harm or delay other medical therapy.

Oct 30, '01

Being the smartass that i am i used it on a test, was told if i ever used it again i would fail the program, jokingly of course. All i can say is thats a stupid fu&$in dx